The Never Ending Published Authors Thread (NEPAT)

This is just a little experiment. It's pretty much apparent that staying on topic on the Chatter Box is impossible. So, I thought I would start a thread that never even began on topic and see where it goes.

Go on, say something.

Without a topic, are we expected to talk about nothing? Nothing at all?

Nothing is noticable by the very lack of anything being there, and can be traced by to the very first humans that walked the earth. They found a lot of nothing, everywhere they looked, because they had no idea what they were looking at.

"Ebb, what is that you have in your hand," Ogg said, staring at the huge bird leg that Ebb was gnawing on.

"Nothing," relied Ebb, not wanting to share the leg, "nothing at all."

And so it begins. Or as the board of Avone said, "Tis much adoodoo about nothing."

Actually this is on topic seeing as not being on topic is the topic.
By talking about not being on topic or even changing the topic you are still on topic because the thread is about not being on topic. I'm confused disoriented and not on topic. But actually that statement is on topic beause at the same time it is not.

Congratulations on starting the worlds first forum thread where it is imposssible to be off topic.

Well done for confusing the hell out of me

I am a cucumber.

Is Ebb Flo's husband? Why was Ogg oggling that bird's leg? Where do I find the Avone Board that talks about nothing?

If you can't stay on topic, try going off topic and you'll be right on topic.

Cucumber Chris: you are a tomato short of a salad.

A hole without a donut is what's left after the last grain of sugar has been licked from your lips.

What older brothers teach their little sisters:

One bright day, in the middle of the night
Two dead boys got up to fight

Back to back, they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot each other

A deaf policeman heard the noise
And he went in to kill those two dead boys

Now if you don't believe this lie is true
Just ask that blind man, he saw it too

Removed--wrong thread!

Alice that belongs on another thread. This thread is for discussing anything that hasn't already been discussed.

Sorry--I fixed it!

Strange world we are in

1. We don't know why we are here
2. The universe is so F***ing big, but we still have been unable to find life outside our little planet.
3. 95 percent of people in the world have money problems. The remaining 5 percent have a different problem. They got too much money.
4. Wars happen and cause such destruction and death. Never gives a postive solution. Just creates more destruction.
5. Some companies are such a global success, even though they sell crap. (Happy meal anyone?)
6. Most people are sexually repressed, (I am). That is why the porn industry is such big business.
7. Hollywood actors portray normal people in movies. We feel for the characters and pay to watch the film. We watch those movies again and again. But in reality those actors are living in mansions and driving ferraris.
8. Our parents teach us, tell us off and we have to listen to them most of the time. Because they are our parents right. The truth is, they aren't always right.
9. In the west, we live in such democratic society, that youths can terrorize the neighbourhood and get away with it.
10. In the U.S guns are so easily available, that people are killed every day by a firearm. This is the country that the rest of the world is supposed to look up to and follow.

Finally a thread for off topic subjects. It is strange how a subject will start with an appropriate title, within a selected subject category, and in response, someone will make a side remark that becomes the new topic. Then there is a "by the way" comment and off we go in a new direction.
The chatter box has lived up to its name for any and everything that did not fit into the other categories.
Since this is not the chatter box, will chatter take on a new meaning? Is this the end of the line?
Perhaps the title to this thread should have been, "By the way..."
I gather that whatever is posted on this thread is "all topic."

Marie Pacha wrote:

How is definitely spelled?

I've only just noticed but it's growing on me -- it seems to fit. Maybe I should change it to definitively.

It is a strange world we live in.

This is not a replacement for the Chatter Box but it is a place to add your asides before you go off tangent on another thread. By that, I don't mean change the topic on another thread and then move over here to continue the conversation. Instead, post on this thread when an idea comes into your head, e.g. Someone posted on another thread that made me think of this, blah, blah, blah.

It won't stop threads going off topic but it might help to stop threads being taken over completely.

Aeroplanes can fly only because they are made with reason.
Without reason in our world, the world becomes a mad world.

You mean there are topics we haven't discussed?

My only comment about topics that changed in mid-thread is that sometimes I miss some interesting discussions on threads not being watched.

Carol

Quoting Peter King on Si.com:

Quote :

When you take a few days to consider things other than football, it's interesting the things you learn. Like this, about Kurt Vonnegut: He was an SI man! This from his son Mark Vonnegut's introduction to Armageddon in Retrospect, a collection of unpublished pieces by his father: "He was not good at being an employee. Back in the mid-1950s, he was employed by Sports Illustrated,briefly. He reported to work, was asked to write a short piece on aracehorse that had jumped over a fence and tried to run away. Kurtstared at the blank piece of paper all morning and then typed, 'The
horse jumped over the f------ fence,'' and walked out, self-employed
again.' ''

Shelagh wrote:

This is just a little experiment. It's pretty much apparent that staying on topic on the Chatter Box is impossible. So, I thought I would start a thread that never even began on topic and see where it goes.

Go on, say something.

SOMETHING!

Carol Troestler wrote:

You mean there are topics we haven't discussed?

Thousands.

Carol Troestler wrote:

My only comment about topics that changed in mid-thread is that sometimes I miss some interesting discussions on threads not being watched.

This is partly the reason that threads should not remain off topic. Members following a thread don't want to re-read all the posts in order to find out where the topic left off when they last visited the forum. Alice's Perfect Crime thread is a fun thread and members can join in at any point. The more serious threads fall apart if they remain off topic and never return to the original discussion.

Threads that remain on topic die a lot faster than off-topic ones, though (just my observation on many boards). The off-topic ones are usually the best ones ones. Someone not following a certain thread can be tipped off to it becoming interesting when the pages starts piling up.

LC,

You mean like the perfect crime thread that moved from a crime to ostriches and shoes?

Carol

Carol, I haven't been following that thread. But if that's what it has morphed into, then yes. Shoes, you say? Maybe I should check it out.

I would agree with you but for the NEPAT thread. All the off-topic posts are removed but the thread hasn't died yet. It will be interesting to see if this thread lasts.

The NEPAT thread isn't a good illustration, though. It's in its own weird category and exists due to the year in-year-out efforts of a few people, augmented by a trickle of vocal, disgruntled (and clueless) ex-PA'ers.

The NEPAT thread isn't good. Period.